How to stick to 1,600 calories a day...
It’s no wonder we’re all getting fatter – according to the experts, adults eat on average 200-300 calories more a day than we should
To stem the obesity tide they suggest 400 calories for breakfast, 600 calories for lunch and 600 calories for dinner.
The health watchdog is demanding that manufacturers and restaurants all work harder at making more choices available that meet those targets – but in the meantime, how easy is it to keep to the 400-600-600 rule?
Simple make-at-home meals are your ally here, so we’ve come up with a week’s worth of choices to help. Two grilled Sainsbury’s Butcher’s Choice sausages in a small roll (381 calories)
This isn’t the healthiest way to spend your breakfast calories, but it’s fine as a weekend treat. And you can add a large sliced tomato to make it count as one of your five-a-day.
Two Weetabix with 150ml semi-skimmed milk, 125g pot low-fat fruit yogurt, one small banana (392cals)
The classic cereal, yogurt and fruit brekkie provides gut-friendly fibre and is a good source of calcium for strong bones.
Two poached eggs and
3tbsp fried mushrooms on a slice of wholemeal toast (no butter) (369 cals)
Eggs have the added benefit of making you feel fuller for longer – it’s their protein content that helps curb hunger.
25g (slightly rounded tbsp) almond butter on a cinnamon raisin bagel (401 cals)
Almond butter is full of good fat, magnesium (for a healthy nervous system) and the antioxidant
Vitamin E. But spread it sparingly – it’s very high in calories.
Medium/large bowl of porridge (50g oats,
375ml semi-skimmed milk) with a handful of blueberries (396 cals)
400 calories gets you a decent sized bowl of stomach-filling porridge with berries. If you add sugar, it’s an extra 16 calories per teaspoon.
170g Total Greek yogurt, 50g nutty granola, 80g strawberries (401 cals)
This tasty option provides calcium and vitamin C. And though granola can be sugary, it’s balanced out with the natural yogurt.
Tesco chocolate croissant, from the bakery (370 cals)
Another not so healthy option so an occasional treat only. Won’t fill you up and it’s over half your daily limit of cholesterol-laced saturated fat.
40g can Heinz cream of tomato soup, roll with scrape of butter, 4-finger Kit Kat (585 calories)
Yes, you can include chocolate in a 600 calorie lunch. Here’s one way, but don’t make it your every day lunch as, apart from all that sugar, it’s lacking in protein Medium/large jacket potato with half a can of beans and 50g grated Cheddar (591 cals) A classic combination. But where you can run into waistline trouble is being over handy with the cheese, so stick to this quantity. Can of mackerel in tomato sauce on two slices of wholemea